Cookie Cutter Bird Feeder

We were inspired to make bird feeders out of cookie cutters from a blog called Eighteen25. It’s a quick and simple project to do with the kids, and you’ll get lots of visitors that are fun to watch.

Supplies:

1 cup birdseed

1/4 cup water

1 small envelope of unflavored gelatin

Ribbon, twine, string, or yarn

Cookie cutters

Wax paper

Cookie sheet

Straws

Directions:

First add an envelope of unflavored gelatin to a pot.

Then add 1/4 cup of water and bring it to a simmer, while stirring, until all the gelatin is dissolved.

Next add 1 cup of birdseed to a bowl. The original recipe called for 3/4 cup (hence why my kids are only holding 1/4 cup of birdseed in the picture), but we still had quite a bit of liquid at the bottom after stirring, so we added another 1/4 cup.

We then mixed in the gelatin with the birdseed. Both my son and daughter thought the two ingredients combined smelled awful….can you tell by the look on my daughter’s face?? Hahahaha!

Place some wax paper on top of a cookie sheet. Then lay your cookie cutters on top of the wax paper and spoon the birdseed mixture all the way to the top.

The mixture is really sticky, so take the back of your spoon to make sure the mixture is packed really tightly, and to smooth out the top.

Next, cut a straw that’s about an inch to an inch and a half long and poke a hole through the top of each cookie cutter mold. Make sure that it goes all the way through because this is the hole you will use to string your ribbon for hanging. Leave the straw in while the mixture is drying.

Allow the mixture to dry inside the cookie cutters overnight. Then slowly slide them out of the cookie cutters, remove the straws and string ribbon through them to hang on your tree. I had a little trouble stringing the ribbon through the hole, so I used a bamboo skewer to help push it through.

Just an FYI…we were only able to make two ornaments from this recipe. So depending on how many ornaments you want to make, you might want to double or triple the recipe.

14 Responses

Great minds must think alike! We just did some of these too and I've been working on the post. We are going to use them as Mother's Day presents. Mind if I mention you when I do post? Your pictures are fantastic 🙂 I love that you got a picture of the bird too!

Yes great minds do think alike! 😉 What a great idea to give them away as a gift. Of course you may mention my post! I can't wait to read about yours! We had quite a few visitors despite some rainy weather today…I just loved this little guy though…it looked like he had some acrobatic moves going on. He had one foot on each of the birdseed feeders!

I actually don't know the answer to this question, but I'm going to say that it probably depends on where you live and how hot it gets. I was actually worried about ours today because we had drizzle and light rain all day, but they are still solid as they were when they were dry. If you are worried about the heat from the sun, I would probably hang them somewhere that provides shade for it. Hope that helps! 😉

wow yours turned out great – I tried this and it was an unmitigated disaster. I'm glad you had success. Thanks for linking to Kids Co-op. (My husband likes the name of your blog, he said "Juggling with Kids – hmm sounds dangerous!")

So glad Carol got me to your site! What a great idea those would be. As I told Carol, it wouldn't work around here as there are way to many cats for that to be fair but I just thought they would make great gifts for my sister who lives in Michigan — how fun to hang them and watch the birds in the winter, when they really need the extra food! Thank you!

Awesome bird feeder — We're addicted to watching the cardinals in our backyard. Would you be willing to share with our sensory site? — Calling All Bloggers – Fun Family Thanksgiving Crafts + Ideas Wanted!! Thanksgiving is just around the corner. And as any parent, we’re looking for terrific Thanksgiving crafts and ideas for the kiddos. Add a link to your craft idea on your blog. Here's the link to share and get more traffic to your site… http://thesensoryspectrumblog.com/2012/11/04/calling-all-bloggers-fun-family-thanksgiving-crafts-ideas-wanted/

About Me

Akane Everitt

Hi! I'm Akane, the founder of Jugglingwithkids.com. I am a certified early childhood educator and the mother of two amazing young children. As a preschool teacher, I work with kids every day, planning developmentally appropriate activities based on children’s interests and needs supported by foundations in child development theory. Here on my blog, I share crafts, play ideas, and reviews that help parents create a fun, creative and safe environment for their kids' growth and well-being. I hope you enjoy! Read More…